1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bridging device for joint gaps between building parts including a safety construction which prevents a separation of the building parts from destroying the brigiding device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In buildings exceeding certain dimensions it is necessary to provide for expansion joints for compensating thermal expansion in order to avoid destruction of the building. This is particularly true for bridge constructions in which thermal expansions can assume enormous dimensions. Therefore, it is known, for bridge constructions in particular, to provide for corresponding bridging devices for joint gaps between building parts, bridge parts in particular. European EP 0 821 104 e.g. discloses such bridging device. Said bridging device disclosed in EP 0 821 104 comprises a safety means which in addition to the compensation of standard dimension alterations permits protection of the expensive expansion joints and edge constructions against destruction in case of extreme loads on the bridging device, in an earthquake e.g.
In spite of the fact that the bridging device disclosed in EP 0 821 104 reliably meets this demand, it nevertheless includes the disadvantage that said bridging device or expansion joint construction, respectively, is no longer suitable for the intended use after the safety means having been actuated, since the expansion joint construction in case of excessive reduction of the width of said joint gap, e.g. by an earthquake, presses the expansion joint construction out of the joint gap. Moreover, said safety means does not permit compensation of other excessive movements exceeding a standard value, of the buildings creating said joint gap, with respect to one another, an enlargement of said joint gap width e.g., exceeding the admissible magnitude or a transversal movement of the building parts with respect to one another, which causes a displacement of the building parts with respect to the joint gap.